My Father has Lung cancer

[blessedmomof3]

Ok, I don't know where to go for support and not sure if this is the right place. I'm at a total loss here. My dad was diagnosed w/ Lung Cancer a month ago, and today I learned it is now in his Limpnodes (sp?) I'm so angry right now. It all started w/ an Xray of his back and they found a spot on his lung. They did the Biopsy and his lung collapsed. By the way, this is a VA hospital he is dealing with. Anyway, they sent him home and he didn't get the results for over a week. He said while he was still in the hospital they ran all kinds of tests and scans and told him it was no where else not even in his Limpnodes. Now 3 weeks later and no treatment yet, we are told it has spread to his neck and limpnodes. I feel like they should have had the results much sooner than that, and if they had they could have stopped it. I'm begging him to go to a real DR, but he says VA is free. His wife works in a hospital lab and has good insurance and I have offered to help out financialy, but he refuses. Now, he still does not know when his treatments will start or anything. Not even what kind of Cancer it is. I don't know if he just doesn't want to tell us or if they realy aren't telling him anything. His wife is a wreck and can't even think straight enough to get awnsers. I feel like my father will not make it another 6 months at this rate. What do I do?????


Desperatly,
Jenea'

[blessedmomof3]

Thank You so much!!!! I will check it out.

[Spicy1]

Hulston Cancer Center is located near Springfield MO. Their website is www.coxhealth.com ...I hope your father will decide to go to a dedicated cancer center. Good luck to you.

[blessedmomof3]

Thank You so much for your advice. I will try to look up some centers and try to get my father to go to a Center.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  I agree with you that the pace of your father's treatment is going slowly.  If your father has lung cancer, this type of tumor can progress and spread quickly in a couple of months, so your father should be diagnosed and treated with a little more urgency.  Ideally you should bring him to a dedicated cancer center like MD Anderson or Mayo Clinic, but as you have said, the problem is convincing your father to switch to another doctor.  What you can do is to survey cancer centers near your area (you can do this by using the internet).  Your father may be amenable to go to another hospital if it is near and convenient for him to do so. You can also try searching over the internet for cancer support groups located near your area.  These groups may be able to recommend their preferred doctors and hospitals.